Small Communities &Townships

Alpha

In 1798, Owen Davis built a mill and called it Alpha, for the first letter of the Greek alphabet. The village that grew up around it still exists, established in 1854. The town of Alpha was a railroad point on the Dayton, Xenia and Belpre Railroad, which never made it further east than Chillicothe or so.

Industries

Major industries in Beavercreek Twp. included distilleries and oil, grist, woolen, and saw mills. John Paul was a very early landowner, who later was instrumental in founding Madison IN; and the Pinckney Road was the first state road in Greene County, laid out in about 1800, from Cincinnati through Bellbrook and Alpha.

Bath Township

Beavercreek Township

As written by Frank B. Zink, "Beavercreek Township is one of the original four townships in this section of the state. It extended as far north as Lake Erie. It is a beautiful valley, fertile, well timbered, rolling and picturesque. It is noted for its fine farms. The high ridge separating Beaver Creek and Mad River is a particularly fine fruit section." Beavercreek Township encompasses 50 square miles of Greene County, and is bordered by Fairborn, Xenia, Sugarcreek, and Dayton.

Bowersville

Peter Bowermaster, an early settler, gave part of his name to the largest village in Jefferson Township, Bowersville. It was founded in 1848, ten years before the township was laid out. Another story is that the “bowers” of shade trees gave the village its name.

Heyday

Bowersville's heyday occurred around 1918, with cement sidewalks, telephone lines, and over 30 businesses located there. The 1930s and the closing of the Grasshopper Railroad brought hard times, and now it is a shadow of its former self. In 1906, it even had a newspaper, the People's Advocate. Its most famous native was Norman Vincent Peale, author and speaker. Today, Bowersville is a small rural community, located just minutes from I-71, shopping and restaurants, and many larger communities.

Clifton

Clifton Village is divided by the Greene and Clark County line. It was the site of a woolen mill that provided fabric for soldiers' uniforms during the War of 1812, and currently houses Clifton Mill, the oldest continuously operating mill in Ohio. Each winter, visitors flock to the mill to see its fabulous holiday light display.

Natives

Famous natives include Woody Hayes, Ohio State football coach, and Isaac Funk, co-founder of Funk & Wagnalls publishing company.

First Vehicular Accident

The first vehicular accident in the county happened in Miami Township; Lodrick Austin, stagecoach driver, was killed when his coach overturned on the Clifton Gorge road in 1836. He was buried in Clifton Cemetery; his tombstone has a coach and two horses carved on it.

Spring Valley Township

Spring Valley Township is governed by a board of three trustees and one fiscal officer, all of which are elected officials form within the community. We are a rural township, covering 35.92 square miles. Most people do not realize the wide variety of services we are responsible for providing. As a township, we handle important things like road maintenance, park and cemetery management, zoning, and fire and emergency services. We keep busy so that Spring Valley Township stays a beautiful and safe place for the wonderful people that inhabit it.

Spring Valley Village

Spring Valley Village was settled very early, soon after the county itself was formed in 1803. The village was originally called Coopersville, for the coopering (barrel-making) industry there. Edward and Moses Walton were some of the earliest businessmen, father and son famous for pork-packing and meat curing.

George Barrett Concrete House

The George Barrett Concrete House is famous as the first poured-wall concrete house in Ohio, built in 1853. It is being restored as a historic site. Another landmark is the (possibly) Adena mound; at one time, there was a kerosene tank at its summit, intended as a gravity feed to send oil to various homes and businesses.

Statistics

Much of the township's manufacturing has involved mills of various kinds, due to the presence of the Little Miami River: for oil, wool, grain, and lumber. This township has the lowest elevation in the county: a mere 756.56 feet above sea level.

Sugarcreek Township

Wilberforce

This is a small village which was first settled around the 1840s, with a medicinal springs resort that attracted many visitors. Its real growth occurred when Wilberforce University was founded in 1856; the town is also home to Central State University and Payne Theological Seminary. Payne was one of the first African Methodist Episcopal seminaries in Ohio, founded in 1891. All are considered historically black colleges.

Xenia Township

Xenia Township was established August 20, 1805. (At that time it included a part of what is now Clark County). It covers 48.40 square miles. The population of the Township is 6,537 as of the 2010 Census.

Old Town

Old Town appears to have been the oldest settlement in Greene County. It was a village of the Shawnee Indians, which had a peak population of 1,100 persons around 1779. Its location is about three miles north of Xenia, on the Little Miami Railroad. Its population in 1870 was two hundred. Business enterprise was represented by one shoemaker, one distiller, one blacksmith, two wagon makers, one grocer, one dealer in flour, feed, etc. and a school.